For some reason I feel as if I’ve spent the last three days behind the lawnmower, when in fact it probably amounts to less than an hour, total. And the swath I’ve cut through the high grass doesn’t amount to much, when you compare it with the vast field that is my yard. But I have managed to cut back the center strip from the driveway, and a patch around the front of the house. The part of the house my few visitors actually see, that is.

So I guess it was worth the sneezing and the aching legs and arms and (especially) back. It might even be worth the itching in places where the grass couldn’t possibly have touched. I wonder what that’s all about. A few weeks back my landlord complained that he got three ticks on him just walking from the driveway to my front door. I’ve walked that same path a thousand times and never found a tick, so I’m not convinced. Or maybe I’m immune. In fact, I’m pretty sure the itching is from the suggestion of ticks and the like, more than the reality.

The sneezing, however, is real.

Today is Aiden’s fifth birthday. He’s been surprising us for five years now, and I expect the next five will be even more interesting. Not just interesting, but fun — he’s a trip to be around. He also has a good heart, a quick wit, a lively spirit and an ability to carry on a conversation with adults that reminds me of only one person: his dad. David had all of those qualities at that age, and sometimes the resemblance can be a little spooky (but in a good way). I didn’t see him today, but we’re planning a little family celebration for him later in the week, so you can probably expect me to mention him again.